Parents in a western New York school district say a state mandate requiring electric school buses has left their children riding to and from school in unheated buses during winter weather.
Concerns surfaced in the Lake Shore Central School District, about 15 miles southwest of Buffalo, after the state required all new school bus purchases to be electric by 2027, with a full transition mandated by 2035.
WIVB-TV in Buffalo reported receiving calls from parents who said their children were coming home cold after riding electric buses. Some parents began providing hand warmers for the kids.
"The heaters on the bus run off the same electricity as the bus itself," said Scott Ziobro, a parent in the district. "They were told that it drains the battery capacity of the bus itself."
Parents also raised concerns about reliability during cold conditions, including reports of buses breaking down during routes.
"The bus broke down on route," said Chris Lampman, whose son rides one of the buses. "They deployed a substitute bus, and the bus was more than 30 minutes late."
Lampman said his son stood outside in freezing temperatures while waiting for the replacement bus.
"There’s no reason that the kids should freeze for all that time," he said.
Lynn Urbino, a grandmother who helps raise her grandson, said she was alarmed when he described his ride home. "My grandson came home from school last week when it was 23 degrees," Urbino said. "He said they didn’t have heat."
"He came in cold, and I told him, I said, ‘Isn’t the bus warm?’ And he said ‘no, they can’t put the heat on because it drains the battery,’" she added.
Superintendent Phil Johnson said the district operates 23 electric buses and purchased 20 of them using a $7.9 million federal grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Johnson said all buses comply with New York State Department of Transportation temperature regulations and that district procedures require heat to remain on throughout routes.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority has said battery range can decrease in cold weather but remains sufficient for most local bus routes.
The complaints have fueled legislative efforts in Albany to roll back the mandate.
Republican state Sen. Alexis Weik is sponsoring legislation to give school districts discretion over bus purchases.
"They’re living in New York City, which is also La La Land, because this is a city-centric mandate," Weik said.
Republican state Sen. Patrick Gallivan, a co-sponsor, said the mandate is costly and limits local decision-making.
Their legislation has been introduced but has not yet been assigned to a committee.
Ford is taking a nearly $20 billion hit from losses connected to its push to expand its electric vehicle consumer and commercial fleets.
Weak demand forced the automaker to declare the loss, which ranks near the top of corporate write-offs on record. Ford said $13 billion of the losses came since 2023.
Jim Mishler ✉
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